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Hope

Lamentations 3:21-25This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

In the midst of great trials and sorrow and struggle, we have to remember who God is. We can’t have hope apart from Him, but He gives us great hope. He is merciful and compassionate. He is faithful. There is a new day to come with a fresh chance and a fresh hope. And that hope is powerful because it is in a powerful God. That hope is a source of strength for those deepest hurts and wounds and issues because it can overcome anything.

How amazing that these hope-filled verses are in a book called Lamentations. The previous 20 verses describe abject misery. Jeremiah, the writer of these words, experienced great trials and grief. And yet he had hope. His nation had hope. People everywhere, down to our generation today, have hope, because our living God is merciful. Our God is full of unfailing compassion. Our God renews. Our God restores. Our God protects. Our God helps and heals. And when we hope in Him, we can get through whatever we are facing, but it must be in God that we are hoping.

We can’t allow those overwhelming situations to pull our eyes off of God. We can’t allow the darkness of our circumstances to block our view of the God who reigns over all. We can’t miss the fact that He is there with us. And even if we might have to bear up under some great trial, we can wait upon the Lord and allow hope in Him to carry us through. We can’t forget those characteristics of God that make Him a God we can trust so completely.

So whenever a trial comes, let us remember these verses. Let us remember that we do have hope and where that hope is found. Let us remember why we can have hope in God. And let us then lean into Him and endure that trial with His merciful presence by our side. Let us remember the many promises contained in just these few verses. We are not consumed. We have new mercy every day. God is faithful. God is near. And God is good.